Orioles trade Bleier to Marlins
The Baltimore Orioles traded left-hander Richard Bleier to the Miami Marlins for a player to be named later, the team announced Saturday.
Bleier struck out four and didn't allow a run in his two appearances for Baltimore this season. Though he had a subpar year in 2019, Bleier was a reliable reliever for Baltimore from 2017 to 2018, going 5-1 with a 1.97 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts to 17 walks over 88 appearances.
The 33-year-old told reporters he was "definitely surprised" by the trade and didn't want to leave Baltimore, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko.
Bleier said he didn't ask for a trade. "Lebron James asks for trades. That's not me." But Bleier lives in South Florida so he's going home #orioles
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) August 1, 2020
The Marlins are currently dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak that's forced several of their games - including four scheduled contests against Baltimore this week - to be postponed. Twenty Marlins players tested positive for the virus as of Friday morning, and an MLB investigation reportedly found that members of the team didn't follow safety protocols during a preseason road trip.